UT School of Music takes on Beethoven's 'demanding' 'Ninth'

Performing Beethoven's "Symphony No. 9 in D Minor," Op. 125, written in 1824, is a massive undertaking for any level of orchestra, even the best professional ensembles.

For an all-student orchestra, chorus and soloists, the task is gargantuan.

But Sunday evening, Feb. 24, at the Tennessee Theatre the University of Tennessee School of Music student orchestra, the school's combined choruses and soloists from the graduate Opera Studio program will fill the stage for what promises to be a milestone event.

It is the culmination of the work of James Fellenbaum, Director of Orchestras, and Angela Batey, Director of Choral Activities, who came to UT in 2008.

"Every other year Angela Batey does one of the choral masterworks," Fellenbaum said. "Ever since she has been here, she asks me when we are going to do Beethoven's 'Ninth.'

"This just seemed the right time to do it."

In the 10 years Fellenbaum has been at UT, he has developed the student orchestra into a competent ensemble that is well worth one's time to hear at their Sunday afternoon concerts at Alumni Auditorium, on campus. All of them are free.

Prior to Fellenbaum's arrival, the orchestra could have been mistaken for an average community orchestra that rarely approached the level of performance that Fellenbaum consistently produces.

"The 'Ninth' is demanding for any level of orchestra," Fellenbaum said. "Partly because of the sheer length of the piece. Seventy minutes is a long time of continuous playing for any orchestra."

The biggest factor in why Fellenbaum believes the orchestra is ready now is the development of the string section.

"Strings are very much like a baby," he said. "It's a slow, gradual progress that takes years to development. Winds and brass are more like a dog. They mature quickly. Their development is much faster than the strings."

Of course, the winds and brass have benefited from a long-established, high-level band program at UT, consistently recognized as one of the best bands in the country.

That has been made possible by a strong wind and brass faculty.

Now, with Mark Zelmanovich and Miroslav Hristov, both professors of violin, and Hillary Herndon, professor of viola, the School of Music is attracting the caliber of students that have long been the backbone of the band program.

The status of Beethoven's music is unquestioned.

"Beethoven changed the face of classical music," Fellenbaum said. "So much so that some composers after would not write more than 9 symphonies out of respect.

"The general public will be surprised at how much of 'Symphony No. 9' is familiar. Many parts and melodies of the Ninth are commonly and commercially played. The music in the new "Diehard" movie trailer is music from the Ninth's finale."